Don’t truncate democracy by taking sides, Gobir warns INEC

Six days to the general elections, a former governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Alhaji Yakubu Gobir, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission to be neutral and unbiased in the conduct of the elections, especially in the state.

Gobir, while speaking with SUNDAY PUNCH, warned INEC officials in the state not to misbehave by favouring any political party in the elections.

The governorship aspirant, who observed that the electoral umpire would face security challenges in the state in the forthcoming elections because of the massive unemployment problem among the youths, said that the security agents posted to the state for election duties had a lot of work to do.

Gobir said, “INEC should realise that the forthcoming elections are crucial to Nigeria and especially to us in Kwara State. It should not misbehave because we know that it is close to the current ruling government in the state.

“It should allow the elections to be free and fair. INEC should not allow its staff in Kwara State to be used to truncate the democratic system in the country.”

Answering a question on why he donated a secretariat and 100 branded campaign vehicles to the APC, Gobir who is the President of Gobir Organisation and the Patron of President Buhari Reelection Support Group, said he was fascinated by the social development programme of the present Federal Government.

He said, “I am a social entrepreneur and I have been involved in finding solutions to the problem of youth unemployment. I look at problems and find solutions to them. I have tried to empower people through various organisations, but this has not solved the problems. I have done it on my own but couldn’t go far; so, I saw the social development programme of the Buhari administration as a credible solution to the problem of youth unemployment.

Asked what he wants to gain by donating the vehicles to the presidential campaign team of President Buhari, Gobir said that he was not expecting any material gain from the President.

“ I’m a social entrepreneur, I’m not doing it for immediate gain. I joined party politics in 2013; my objective is to see changes in the administration of the country and in Kwara State. Our objective is to liberate the people and change the leadership because people across the state are fed up with bad leadership. So, the vehicles are to ease mobility for campaigns in the state and across the country,” he said.

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